A second member of a Ripley crime ring was sentenced to six years in prison

The second member of a four-person Ripley-based alleged crime ring has been sentenced to prison.

Brown County Court of Common Pleas Judge Scott T. Gusweiler sentenced Christina N. Stacy on Oct. 26 to a total of six years in the Ohio Department of Corrections for convictions on five felony counts. Stacy was also ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in restitution.

According to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Stacy, her brother Samuel Stacy, Kenneth “BJ” Lunsford, and Brandon Lang committed a string of robberies and thefts in Ripley, Pleasant Township, and Union Township. Per documents filed with the Brown County Municipal Court, under Christina N. Stacey, a probable cause affidavit states that Stacy stole four firearms worth $510 from Chris Fields on June 8.

Stacy, 22, of Ripley was arrested and arraigned in the municipal court on June 25, and on July 20, the Brown County Grand Jury indicted her on a total of 21 felony counts, including engaging in a corrupt pattern of activity, a first-degree felony, three counts of burglary, a second-degree felony, two counts of grand theft of a firearm, a third-degree felony, and 10 counts of forgery, a fifth-degree felony.

She was arraigned in the court of common pleas on July 21 and after two pre-trials, Stacy accepted a plea bargain and changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on Sept. 11.

More than a month later, Stacy was sentenced to three consecutive two-year sentences in prison, along with a 10-month sentence and one-year sentenced to be served concurrently. In addition, Stacy must pay $800 in restitution to Jan Stacy and $1,000 in restitution to James Haitz.

Stacy was also sentenced to a mandatory three years of post-release control, and if she violates the conditions of her probation, she could be sent back to prison for a maximum of three years.

Stacy received 124 days of credit in jail time already served.

Lunsford, her former partner-in-crime, was sentenced by Gusweiler earlier in October to four years and eight months in prison for his role in the crime ring.

In a separate, unrelated case, Maribeth Denny, 38, of Georgetown, became the second person sentenced to prison for dealing drugs to a person who ultimately dies of an overdose.

Denny was involved in the events that lead to the death of Danny Smith, 62, on June 17, having gone to Cincinnati to purchase heroin along with Kevin Blake Tucker, according to court documents. Tucker has already been sentenced to four years in prison for a conviction on involuntary manslaughter.

After violating her probation, Denny was arrested and held at the Brown County Adult Detention Center, and she quickly pleaded guilty on Sept. 25 to one count of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony.

Gusweiler sentenced Denny on Oct. 26 to two years in prison, mandating that Denny receive substance-abuse counseling and that she be placed on three years of post-release control.

In another separate, unrelated case, Matthew Smith, the son of Danny Smith, was sentenced to two years in prison on Oct. 26 for a conviction of corrupting another with drugs, a second-degree felony. According to court documents, Smith, 32, of Georgetown gave Jessica Barnett heroin on Aug. 7 at Smith’s apartment. Barnett soon began to suffer the symptoms of an overdose and had to be saved by Georgetown EMS taking her to Mercy Health Mt. Orab hospital.

Smith was also sentenced to pay a $7,500 fine, though that was remitted as it was determined Smith is indigent, or too poor to pay the penalty.

Smith’s drivers license has been suspended for 12 months and he was also sentenced to three years of mandatory post-release control.

In two other separate, unrelated cases, two defendants were sentenced to community control punishments.

Ricky A. Raleigh, 26, of Georgetown, was sentenced to another year of community control on top of his original two year sentence, extending the probation to Sept. 18, 2017. Raleigh was previously convicted with attempted corrupting another with drugs, a third-degree felony.

Taryn Kane Fulton, 37, of Amelia, was sentenced to two years of community control following a guilty plea of attempted possession of cocaine, a first-degree misdemeanor.